Which to use
“cócegas” and “colega” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,264
- “cócegas” frequency rank
- #2,669
- “colega” frequency rank
- 27933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cócegas | colega |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sensação particular que provoca deleite, riso, irritação ou movimentos convulsivos, causada por toques ou fricções leves e repetidas em alguns pontos da pele ou das mucosas | pessoa que pertence à mesma coletividade ou categoria |
Where the eye mixes cócegas and colega
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cócegas runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against colega's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: cócegas vs colega
A purely visual mix-up. cócegas (/ˈkɔ.sɨ.ɡɐʃ/) and colega (/ku.ˈlɛ.ɡɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27933, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cócegas is recorded at frequency rank #25,264, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔ.sɨ.ɡɐʃ/. colega is at rank #2,669, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ku.ˈlɛ.ɡɐ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 27933, this pair ranks #40,978 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cócegas vs colega
Shared letters: aceg. Private to "cócegas": só. Private to "colega": lo.
"cócegas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "colega" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- colega ← ccolega · cloega · coelga · coleag · colegga · colgea · collega · oclega
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cócegas" for "colega" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cócegas" or "colega"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cócegas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "colega" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,978 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cócegas" and "colega" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "colcha vs colega". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #40,978 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.